How hard can it get? Part 2 in which we hunt down the ponies

We challenge our favorite song writers to join MGP and let them carry on the challenge to their favorites.

Pics by Sigurd Fandango (Ola on the far left)

Remember when you were young and a piece of the My little pony heaven was all you could dream of? Forget it. We have found the ponies you really want to ride. Here’s Ola Innset from My Little Pony – the band, not the brand.

In our personal quest for good songs to the Norwegian MGP finals, time has come for the best indie pop music Norway can offer you. GEE was very exited when song writer and lead singer Ola Innset from My Little Pony agreed to an interview. Could we get them to participate?

“I think many serious artists stay away from MGP because they don’t want to end up helpless in an empty circus of gossip magazines, jamba ring tones and Per Sundnes”, Ola says. Regardless, he doesn’t rule out participating himself and ensures he do enjoy Eurovision. “I would like to write a song, but due to strict demands about the song not having been performed before, it has to be sometime in the future”, he says, making us regret the fact that we didn’t contact him earlier. Ola would only participate with a very good song in a song writer contest, and the good songs he has written recently are all for the album to be released this fall.

Well, we can hardly wait for that new album. There is hardly anything cuter in Norway than the five twenty-somethings from My Little Pony, a band that quickly was starred in our Spotify lists. Their mix of good quality pop music with soft voices, acoustic instruments and a certain country music feel really hits our spots. One should love a band that makes a tribute song to the one and only hero, MacGyver. But what do they think about Eurovision?

“MGP and Eurovision can be great entertainment on a Saturday night. Those points are fun, but the bad quality of shocks you”, Ola nags on. “Luckily it’s not exactly the best song from each European country that is presented, or I would have been sad. A more serious competition containing things like art and culture, and not just cynical commercialism, would have been more interesting for me. Probably some would find that less interesting, but I think Eurovision is underestimating its audience”.

“Yes, communist”, we’d add if we didn’t agree just a little bit. Could Ola nonetheless see some perks of participating in MGP for a band like his, in spite of the Per Sundnes circus? “It would be good if you could maintain some sort of control of your exposure”, Ola thinks. He would love for a good PR strategy to present his band to a large audience without compromising their own style and goals. Apart from that, he thinks Spain is a little ahead of Norway when it comes to Eurovisional quality. “Several Spanish bands we know have participated in the local finals. La Casa Azul even came third in 2008. The pop music community is very large there, and many bands make great pop music without wanting to hit the middle pages of glossy magazines”, Ola adds, with a clear reference to the more streamlined commercial bands of Norway.

So, Ola is not so keen on MGP being used to extend what he classifies as “the not so very threatened ecological system of lower ranked Norwegian celebrities”. Although we think My Little Pony would deserve all the attention they could get, we do get their fear of not being taken seriously in a competition based on commercialism. “Guess the only way to help change this, would be to participate ourselves, though. I’m just not sure we are pioneers enough for that”, he explains.

Another thing that makes GEE love My Little Pony, is their open, inclusive texts. Like their own version of Brokeback Mountain, “The Ballad of Johnny Diesel”, about the boy who comes out as gay to his father. What does Ola think about the inclusiveness in Eurovision? “Well, I do like fun parties, not just artistic expressions”, he guarantees. “And Eurovision is successful in being the party everyone can participate at without having to hide who they are or who they want to sleep with. But it can be a bit too much for those who want to sleep with people of the same sex, but not participate in the whole gay subculture. Maybe some gays hate Eurovision because they have to act ‘gay’. Ideally you should be able to be who you are both to yourself and others. If Eurovision can help someone to achieve that and others to accept all kinds of people, that’s nice”, Ola believes.

Quite a speech there and, although ambivalent, we do sense a certain faith in Eurovision being able to change away from the things Ola doesn’t like about it. After all he tells us he diggs the old Eurovision music, especially from the 60s. And we know My Little Pony covered Massiel’s Lalala (Spain 1968) once while touring Spain. If he were to write a song, he would start out with the concept of simple songs with a certain alternative structure that he uses for My Little Pony, but maybe move a little bit more towards a radio hit structure of verse-bridge-chorus. Well, we think a song from Sir Innset would be perfect for a Eurovision audience not underestimated, so could we at least hope? “The deadline is not far away, but I’ll let you know if I get in the mood and record a super song before the 15th of September”, he promises us.

OK, that almost satisfies us, but since we are who we are and Ola is who he is, we need one small question more: “Since all you need to know about us is online, Ola, do you really love us or are we just in your network?”

Ola’s answer will remain in our dreams for a long time: “I really love you”.

Our hard verdict:
These are still the cutest ponies around. Only now we know they’ve got brains too. We desperately need something like that in Eurovision, so we do hope Ola comes to his senses real soon. Even a bad song from him would be better than most. Plus for a critical sense, having covered lalala and for trashing Per Sundnes while loving us and MacGyver. Minus for a bit overstated anti capitalism, but hey, we’ve all been young and idealistic once and we all know how that went.

Up next: Einar Stubhaug
So, it’s time for us to leave Ola Innset and let him pass on the challenge. Who would he like to write a song for MGP? “It’s a not so well kept secret that Einar Stubhaug from the skate punk indie pop band Nomber 5s is one of this country’s best song writers. He should really write a song for MGP. And his cover of the French song from 2008, ‘Divine’, is worth listening to”, he encourages.

Good idea, we’ll try contacting him. And while we wait for Ola to hit his mood, let’s hear it for My Little Pony and their MacGyver blues

This site is written by Guri Idsø Viken and Astrid Foldal from Norway. We are both communications professionals and writers and have shared our passion for Eurovision for years. We both grew up in the beautiful middle of nowhere, and as kids, the annual Eurovision final was their only share ... Continue reading →